British and German Military Chiefs Issue Unprecedented Joint Appeal for European Rearmament

In a move without precedent in post-Cold War European defense cooperation, the highest-ranking military officers of Britain and Germany have published a joint open letter arguing that rearmament is not warmongering but a moral necessity — a direct appeal to publics in both countries who remain deeply skeptical of the costs involved.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, and General Carsten Breuer, Germany's chief of defence, penned the letter simultaneously in The Guardian and the German newspaper Die Welt on Saturday German and UK military chiefs state case for rearmingdw.com·SecondaryThe defence chief of Germany's Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have jointly stated the case for rearming, amid the threat posed by Russia. The top military officials penned a joint letter, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Welt, in which they said there was a "moral" case to be made for rearming.. They wrote not merely as military leaders, they said, but "as voices for a Europe that must now confront uncomfortable truths about its security." The timing was deliberate: the letter landed hours after the conclusion of the Munich Security Conference, where European leaders spent three days grappling with the continent's defense posture in an era of diminished American guarantees.

The central argument is blunt. Russia's military posture has "shifted decisively westward," the chiefs wrote, and Moscow is rearming and reorganizing in ways that "could heighten the risk of conflict with NATO countries" German and UK military chiefs state case for rearmingdw.com·SecondaryThe defence chief of Germany's Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have jointly stated the case for rearming, amid the threat posed by Russia. The top military officials penned a joint letter, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Welt, in which they said there was a "moral" case to be made for rearming.. The Kremlin's willingness to wage war on European soil, "as painfully evidenced in Ukraine," represents a threat demanding collective attention. Should Russia perceive weakness or disunity within Europe, they warned, "it may be emboldened to extend its aggression beyond Ukraine" Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia..

"There is a moral dimension to this endeavour," Knighton and Breuer wrote. "Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their people and preserve peace. Strength deters aggression. Weakness invites it" German and UK military chiefs state case for rearmingdw.com·SecondaryThe defence chief of Germany's Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have jointly stated the case for rearming, amid the threat posed by Russia. The top military officials penned a joint letter, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Welt, in which they said there was a "moral" case to be made for rearming..

The letter catalogued concrete steps already underway. Germany is permanently stationing a combat brigade of 4,000 to 5,000 troops on NATO's eastern flank and has amended its constitution to make essentially unrestricted funding available for defense Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.. Berlin has begun procurement of several thousand armoured vehicles alongside an expansion of industrial capacity. Britain, meanwhile, is building as many as six munitions factories designed to generate what the Ministry of Defence describes as an "always on" capability to sustain munitions stockpiles Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia..

But the chiefs also called for something broader: a "whole-of-society" approach to defense that extends far beyond uniformed personnel. "Whole-of-society defence requires resilient infrastructure, research and development in hi-tech from the private sector, and national institutions prepared to function under increasing threats," they wrote German and UK military chiefs state case for rearmingdw.com·SecondaryThe defence chief of Germany's Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have jointly stated the case for rearming, amid the threat posed by Russia. The top military officials penned a joint letter, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Welt, in which they said there was a "moral" case to be made for rearming.. The language echoes the Nordic total-defense model that countries like Sweden and Finland have maintained for decades — and which is now being studied across Western Europe as a potential template.

The appeal arrives at a moment of acute political tension over defense spending. NATO leaders at last year's summit in The Hague committed to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense and security by 2035 — a figure that would represent a dramatic escalation from the 2 percent target that most allies have only recently begun meeting Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.. For Britain, currently spending roughly 2.3 percent of GDP on defense, reaching 5 percent would mean roughly doubling the defense budget. For Germany, which only crossed the 2 percent threshold in 2024 after decades of underspending, the gap is even wider.

Yet polling suggests the public appetite for such increases is limited. A YouGov survey conducted this month found that only 25 percent of Britons favor tax rises to fund greater defense spending, and just 24 percent support spending cuts elsewhere to free up funds — even among those who say increasing UK hard power is very important Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.. A separate Politico poll found German and French voters less willing than a year ago to support increased defense budgets if it means trade-offs with other investment Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia..

This disconnect between elite consensus and public opinion is precisely what the Knighton-Breuer letter attempts to bridge. By publishing in mainstream newspapers rather than defense journals, and by framing rearmament in moral rather than technical terms, the chiefs are making a case directly to voters who will ultimately bear the costs through taxes, reduced public services, or both.

Critics, however, question both the framing and the timing. Anti-war organizations and left-wing politicians in both countries have argued that the rearmament push risks creating a self-fulfilling prophecy — that massive military buildups could provoke the very conflict they claim to prevent. In Germany, the left-wing BSW party led by Sahra Wagenknecht has built significant electoral support partly on opposition to increased military spending, arguing that diplomacy rather than arms should be Europe's primary tool. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland has also pushed back, though from a different angle, questioning the wisdom of confrontation with Moscow Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia..

In Britain, elements of the Labour left have expressed discomfort with defense hikes coming at the expense of health spending and poverty alleviation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking at the Munich conference, sought to navigate these tensions by framing defense investment as economic opportunity. "We are not the Britain of the Brexit years," Starmer told the audience, arguing that the UK should integrate more closely with European allies on defense procurement and manufacturing Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia..

The broader European context adds another dimension. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz disclosed at Munich that he had begun initial talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of Europe joining France's nuclear umbrella — a once-unthinkable discussion that underscores how dramatically the security landscape has shifted since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmamenttheguardian.com·SecondaryDefence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Britain and Germany’s highest ranking military leaders have made an unprecedented joint appeal to the public to accept the “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.. Merz warned that "freedom can no longer be taken for granted" and called for Europe to develop a stronger self-standing security strategy.

The Knighton-Breuer letter represents something genuinely new: the top military officers of two major European powers bypassing their political masters to speak directly to the public about the threat environment. In both countries, military leaders have traditionally maintained strict political neutrality, confining their public remarks to parliamentary testimony and carefully vetted speeches. A joint op-ed in national newspapers, using explicitly moral language about the duty to rearm, breaks that convention.

Whether the appeal will shift public opinion remains to be seen. The gap between what defense planners say is necessary and what voters are willing to pay for has been a persistent feature of European security debates since the end of the Cold War. What has changed is the urgency: with a land war raging in Ukraine, Russian forces reorganizing westward, and American security guarantees increasingly uncertain under a second Trump administration, the military chiefs are betting that moral suasion might succeed where technocratic arguments have failed.

"When Europe acts together, we are a formidable force," Knighton and Breuer concluded. "And we act together, we are not Great Britain and Germany alone" German and UK military chiefs state case for rearmingdw.com·SecondaryThe defence chief of Germany's Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom's chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have jointly stated the case for rearming, amid the threat posed by Russia. The top military officials penned a joint letter, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Welt, in which they said there was a "moral" case to be made for rearming.. The question now is whether their publics will agree that the price of peace is worth paying.